Meet The Acupuncture Physician

Pain and chronic disease is complex. No two people are alike. Each of us is unique in our genetic makeup and physiology. What ultimately causes illness in one person is not the same for another, and treatment for each will therefore be different.

Through a personalized treatment plan and patient centered science based care, our focus is on you not just the disease.

Professional Profile

Carol McDermott is Board Certified and Florida Licensed as an Acupuncture Physician A.P. Doctor of Oriental Medicine D.O.M, and Primary Care Practitioner. She is Board Certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM).    

She is a member of the Florida State Oriental Medical Association (FSOMA) and the American Academy of Pain Management

Dr. McDermott graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine in 2004 in Chicago Illinois. She received advanced training at Guangzhou University Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangzhou, P.R. China.

Carol McDermott, A.P. has a wide breadth of experience, study and training in the mechanisms of chronic pain and illness. She has  continued to study and research since 2004 the underlying neurophysiology, neuroendocrine, immunological, and systems biology mechanisms of the acupuncture system to address the aspects involved in treating complex chronic pain, inflammation, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and disease. Along with continued education in functional medicine and nutrition. Applying this unique combination of medical sciences provides a more complete view your body, your condition and the roadmap for optimum relief.

Before becoming an Acupuncture Physician, Dr. McDermott worked in the preventive health and wellness field for over twenty years, including 18 months at Dr. Andrew Weil’s Program of Integrative Medicine in Tucson, Arizona.

Studies in China –Specializations

Dr. McDermott studied in China and completed clinical rotations at Guangzhou hospital, Guangzhou Peoples Republic of China. One of the four oldest and most respected traditional Chinese Medicine Institutes of higher education in China. It handles approximately 2.5 million outpatient visits and 30,000 inpatient admissions per year with an integration of Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. This integrated/blended approach at Guangzhou Hospital takes advantage of the best features of each system that balances curative services with preventive care for the city’s population base.

Carol McDermott, Acupuncture Physician - her primary focus while at Guangzhou Hospital was treating and managing orthopedic, auto-immune/inflammatory conditions, neurodegenerative and neuromuscular disorders with acupuncture, herbs and physical rehabilitation. One contemporary acupuncture technique utilized at the hospital–scalp acupuncture/neuro-puncture has just a 40 year of history. It integrates traditional Chinese needling methods with Western medical knowledge of the cerebral cortex and neurophysiology and has been proven to be a very effective technique for treating debilitating conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS) and other central nervous system disorders.

Click here to read more about Guangzhou Hospital University

Professional Certifications Affiliations and Trainings

National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
All states in the USA, with the exception of California and Nevada, utilize the examination by NCCAOM (National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) to assess and establish the qualifications and competency to practice acupuncture, herbal medicine, oriental medicine and biomedicine.  Read More about NCCAOM

American Academy of Pain Management

The foremost voice in proposing and advocating for public policy to provide optimal pain care and Transform the way that people with pain get the care they need and deserve. A community of clinicians that work together to ensure that people with pain have access to optimal, person-centered care.

Neuro-Acupuncture

Certified Biomedical Acupuncture for Pain Management

Integrative Neuro Acupuncture for pain-back, neck, acute, degenerative, orthopedic conditions arose from four decades of leading edge research, neuroscience, neurophysiology, molecular biology as it relates to acupuncture and state of the art imaging tools such as MRI’s and PET Scans. Understanding and utilizing acupunctures mechanisms based on this research allows for an extremely effective approach in pain management. We are both trained and practice this model of acupuncture.  

Certified Biomedical Acupuncture for Sports and Trauma Rehabilitation

Advanced neuro-muscular acupuncture techniques to address and enhance the neuromuscular, musculoskeletal and physiological systems that can reduce inflammation, muscles spasms, tissue adhesion, trigger points, joint stiffness, and chronic pain from repetitive movement, sports injuries and trauma.

Certification in Acupuncture Injection Therapy

In order to use AIT as a therapy, Acupuncture Physicians must complete additional didactic and clinical training beyond their traditional education.  An additional certification in AIT must be earned in order to practice this technique.

Acupuncture Injection Therapy or Acupuncture Point Injection (AIT), is an integrative therapy that blends the best of Chinese Medicine with conventional and homeopathic medicine.

Employing this technique, AIT certified Acupuncture Physicians inject natural therapeutic substances such as homeopathic remedies or vitamins, into acupuncture points to stimulate your body’s own healing mechanisms.

AIT is particularly effective for the resolution of acute and chronic pain in the body, particularly in the shoulder, back, knee, and neck along with treating arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis and spasms. We also use AIT techniques in many of our weight loss protocols, Cosmetic Acupuncture, Wellness injections i.e B-12 Injections.

Certified National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA)

A pharmaceutical free approach to behavioral health including- addictions, mental health, and disaster & emotional trauma that is utilized within comprehensive treatment programs around the world.Click here to read more about NADA.

Neuroendocrine –Immunology- Functional Medicine -Nutrition -Pain Management Trainings

Institute for Functional Medicine- The Global Leader in Functional Medicine

Functional Medicine incorporates the latest in genetic science, systems biology, and understanding of how environmental and lifestyle factors influence the emergence and progression of disease.

Functional Medicine enables physicians and other health professionals to practice proactive, predictive, personalized medicine and empowers patients to take an active role in their own health. Click here to read more.

Institute for Functional Medicine- The Global Leader in Functional Medicine

Energy Advanced Practice Module

The science of mitochondrial function and dysfunction, the impact of oxidative stress, as well as nutritional and lifestyle influences on both health and disease. Clinicians will learn how to regenerate compromised mitochondrial function and how to address the varied underlying causes of fatigue, depression, headache, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. Evidence-based modalities to address pain, and the profound potential of the healing partnership.

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Integrating Functional Nutrition and Medicine into Clinical Practice

Gastrointestinal dysfunction and its links to chronic disease. Nutritionally focused assessment and treatment Food sensitivities, allergies, and intolerances. Inflammation and immune dysregulation. Toxins, toxicity, and impaired biotransformation. Insulin resistance and cardiometabolic syndrome. Hormonal imbalance including adrenal, thyroid, and sex hormones Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and fatigue.

Functional Medicine University

Functional Medicine approach to the Immune System

Functional Medicine approach to the Oxidative Stress, Blood Sugar Regulation, Energy Production

Functional Medicine the Cardiovascular System and Auto Immunity

Functional Medicine approach to the Structural Integrity and Weight Loss

Functional Medicine approach to the Liver and Detoxification

Functional Medicine approach to the Psychological, Emotional, Spiritual Balance

American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M)

The A4M is dedicated to a personalized treatment model that inspires partnership between patient and practitioner, to the advancement of technology to detect, prevent, and treat aging related disease and to promote research into methods to retard and optimize the human aging process.

The A4M is also dedicated to educating physicians, scientists, and members of the public on unique clinical approaches that promote disease prevention and age enhancing lifestyles through biomedical sciences, breaking technologies, and a world renowned faculty and speakers including:

Dr. David Permultter, leading Natural Medicine Neurologist, is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of nutritional influences in neurological disorders.

Dr. Daniel Amen, a physician, double board certified psychiatrist, brain imaging expert. Amen Clinics have the world’s largest database of functional brain scans relating to behavior, totaling nearly 100,000 scans on patients from 111 countries. He is the lead researcher on the world’s largest brain imaging and rehabilitation study on professional football players.

Lifestyle Medicine – More Life, Less Medicine

Food as Medicine preventing and treating disease with diet. 

The human biome -your Gut- the gatekeeper to your health.
Nutrient Strategies for prevention of Inflammation and Immune/Autoimmune Disease Prevention

Endocrine System Lifestyle Factors, Chronic Stress

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston Texas

INTEGRATIVE ONCOLOGY - MD Anderson, one of the top cancer treatment and research centers in the country, found Acupuncture reduces the impact of side effects of cancer treatment and improves the overall quality of life for the patient. They utilize acupuncture as a part of their integrative approach to safely and effectively deliver acupuncture integrated with conventional cancer treatments to improve outcomes for cancer patients.

Community Service

Doctor McDermott serves as the Acupuncturist for the Neighborhood Health Clinic ‘’Providing Hope and Healing for Those in Need “-- the Neighborhood Health Clinic delivers quality medical and dental care to low income, working but uninsured Collier County adults.

Carol McDermott A.P. served as the Acupuncturist for the State of Maryland in the Behavioral Health Substance Abuse Program/ Project 103. She developed an integrative non pharmacological program for behavioral health utilizing acupuncture, nutrition, mind/body stress techniques such as guided imagery and meditation along with exercise.  

Current Work

Carol McDermott, A.P. is the co-owner and Medical Director of McDermott Wellness Center specializing in chronic pain relief, oncology support, and a patient-centered approach that promotes wellness and optimal disease treatment throughout the aging process.

By fusing conventional and complementary healthcare approaches, along with our relentless attention to the latest medical research, we are able to develop a customized plan to help individuals maximize their vitality and wellbeing utilizing Neuro-Acupuncture, Traditional Acupuncture, Trigger Point Therapy, Nutrition, and Stress Reduction Techniques to help address the multiple underlying issues of a person’s complaint

Carol McDermott A.P./D.O.M.
McDermott Wellness Center
860 111th Ave North Suite 3
Naples, Fl 34108
239-254-0001
Painreliefnaples.com